"The She Book" Donating to The Fight against Human Trafficking by Michelle Myers

http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/michelle-myers/the-she-book-volume-1/
paperback/product-14455629.html

Michelle Myers, co-founder of the Philadelphia spoken word duo Yellow Rage and co-host of Asian Arts Initiative’s Family Style Open Mic series, wrote The She Book to celebrate how women’s powerful voices can build communities.

Born in South Korea and now living in South Jersey, Myers explores personal experiences from her life, as well as an array of political situations and mythical images, through poetry. Audience members should expect storytelling, spoken word poetry and song in Myers’ performance, which is dedicated to honoring the whole-self identity of women.

“It’s about celebrating the strength and beauty of women, especially in their most vulnerable moments,” said Myers, whose children created the book’s cover.

One poem in The She Book, “She Home-Bound,” explores immigration and otherness:

But this place could not be the

land in which She was born for

restless feet had carried her from post-war

Korea, fatherless and therefore nameless,

a might-as-well-have-never-been-born existence,

on child-sized feet that bore witness to

moving spaces to which She had

no connection.

In giving shape and life to these vibrant stories, Myers hopes to build a community united in the restorative energy of love, acceptance and personal power. All proceeds from the book will be donated to aid anti-trafficking efforts and community building in Haiti and Cambodia. 

http://asianartsinitiative.org/press-releases/philadelphia-poet-and-storyteller-michelle-myers-kicks-off-book-tour-for-the-she-book-at-asian-arts-initiative-march-22

                                                                                During One Book Philadelphia Michelle and Catize aka "Yellow Rage" allowed me to host "A write Your Block Session" where i was able to meet Kit Yan a proud Femme and hear their stories of being them and not what society wants them to be.

I Am

I'm A Women Not A Flavor

Listen Asshole

Human Trafficking Has To Stop

"I just needed somebody to talk to, somebody who coulda helped me find another way. I never heard of any other options, or I wouldn’t be here. Kids like me, we don’t know nothin’ but the streets. We need to know there’s something else out there – but we just don’t. – A CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING SURVIVOR

We must center the voices and experiences of youth in ‪#‎sextrafficking‬ policy. ‪#‎SB851‬ ‪#‎SafeHarbor‬, not only cops but those public defenders and interviewers for the public defenders

http://nywf.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/NYWF_Sex-Trafficking-of-Minors.pdf

Art For Dawn's Place

"Peculiar Relationships" by Gwen Ragsdale

“Peculiar Relationships” by Gwen Ragsdale explores the unspoken history between African and White women from slavery to present time. If you are looking to bridge relationships that address racism and build understanding for how we become who we are. Then please invite other concerned people to have a book discussion about “Peculiar Relationships”.

Mrs. Gwen Ragsdale co-founder of Lest We Forget Slavery museum 3650 Richmond Street, wrote “Peculiar Relationships” so that women can understand that our skin color may be different but we have so much in common. Our strength to be seen as women and not property stands out most for me. On the ugly side the system of dependency created delusional and selfish human beings who choose to put their own desires before the respect of African’s life. These tough conversations of slavery can bring about a better life for all human beings if when we read the book we understand that we are reading the book to grow into better human beings from learning from our past.

As a community advocate I was able to learn more about the derogatory treatment African and African American women have suffered through. I learned about what our men have been through also but my focus was our women. Before interviewing Mrs. Ragsdale I listened to her interview on C.O.W. S internet radio.
http://www.blacktalkradionetwork.com/2015/12/14/the-c-o-w-s-gwen-ragsdale-peculiar-relationships/ about her book. During that interview she mentioned that she felt that “we have a duty to tell the stories of our ancestors. We all need to understand what our sisters went through and we all have an inner slave sister. The angry black women or tender loving wife just wanting to be love and cared for. We need to recognize appreciate and love our inner slave sister.”

I feel my inner slave sister, often say I was raped four generations ago and because of that rape have a hard time accepting inter-racial relationships that produce mix children. I feel the porch monkey, mulatto name calling that my great, great grandmother Sallie Biddle went through. I feel the hate of being a product of my white ancestor raping my African slave ancestor only to throw us away. My inner slave sister, my great, great grandmother is at peace now, because I was able to connect with her pain and leave all the speculations behind. Thanks to Gwen Ragsdale "Peculiar Relationships"!! 

Where Is Tanya?

January 12, 2016 I’m listening to 100.3fm Old School an interview with an author I believe of “Behind Closed Doors”  a fictional novel based on a sex trafficking survivor named Tanya. I have been raising awareness about the derogatory treatment women and men go through. Outside of Terrance Tykeem addressing child sexual abuse I haven’t been able to cover much about the men addressing these same issues affecting men.

Would like to find a way to end sexual and all exploitation of our most vulnerable members in our society. During the #BreakingTheSilence town hall, Girl’s Justice League Kyndal Clark spoke of her experience as a social caseworker in a high school in Philadelphia. She had a student name Tanya, who was the only Asian American student in an all black school. Kyndal and the schools’ dean made a home visit because of Tanya’s excessive absence from school. Language barriers kept the mother from communicating but she allowed Kyndal and the school dean to enter Tanya’s bedroom. Tanya’s room was torn apart much like Tonya had been as she laid disoriented in her bed. Tanya’s world is shattered because her mom’s boyfriend abuses her. They again questioned the mom to no prevail.

The Philadelphia Department of Human services were contacted. DHS said they couldn’t find Tanya’s address. #%&%$%#@&^*   The school kicked Tanya out and refused to let her return. Judge Lori Dumas, Court of Common Pleas, Family Division oversees the sex trafficking courts. Judge Dumas shared with us that 99% of the young girls and women who end up in her courtroom were sexually abused. These young girls and women were being charged as prostitutes but that law was changed to charge them with being trafficked.

I wonder where is Tanya? Is she still caught up in a life full of careless systems? Or worse? Systems that play a blind eye whenever possible. Her mother and her probably came here looking for a better life. Only to have one wall after another block their freedom to enjoy life.  The authoress who wrote “Behind Closed Doors” mentioned she did so to raise awareness about the dangers of glorifying the sex trade, our young women think that partying is the way. NOT!! In South L. A. the young girls/women walk around with dresses/shirts that barely cover their ass and no panties. We can do better than this if we take the time to pay attention and care versus pay attention with a blind eye.

When Will The African American Community Stand Together?

Read a post asking us to stand by Mr. Bill Cosby simply because he is a black man. My response: i want to support him, but have a challenging time doing so. for he talked about using Spanish fly on t.v. so I'm sure he has raped several of those women because of the Spanish fly culture that was promoted during his rise in stardom. i don't like the way white media constantly talks about his case and not the catholic priest who moved child pedophiles from school to school.

"After 12 days of deliberations, a Common Pleas Court jury found that Lynn allowed the Rev. Edward V. Avery, who had a history of sexually abusing children, to live in a Northeast Philadelphia rectory, where he later assaulted a 10-year-old altar boy. Avery pleaded guilty in the 1999 attack and is serving five years in prison."http://articles.philly.com/.../61693800_1_house-arrest...


Crazy i was wondering when, who and if we should stand by those in the African American community when accused and or found guilty of crimes against our communities and society. Exploring the African American woman and why some of us don't support one another when the question of who and when to support popped into my mind. The question popped in my mind because i have been video documenting the African American communities and learning that what we have in common is that we come from different parts of Africa and was born in different parts of The United States of America. Documenting women for the "Changing Attitudes Towards Women" campaign that i created in March 2015 i began to see the various icebergs that make up the African American woman. i plan to focus on these icebergs to help bring light to some of the support struggle in our communities.

I support my people without judgement. I also hold my people accountable. For example i attend African American cultural events to support our culture and past on our history. I'm known for my anti-charter school stand, i see charter schools as genocide on poorly resourced communities. Sad but true, those who believe they are the authority with pasting on the African American culture are also big charter school supporters. So when i attend these events the room or air often goes stiff because I'm judged by my advocacy. I don't judge those who support charter schools and have invited them to some of my recordings to give them voice also. I'm not a religious person but volunteered four days for the World Meeting of Families Pope Francis visit. I'm able to see past our differences and work with those the catholic church, and charter school supporters on other concerns in our communities but they can't do the same towards me.

Bottom line, finding common ground depends on how mature we are and how strong our desire to come together is. How do our actions affect others? I understand that my complexion is a barrier caused by Willie Lynch. Because of my complexion i have learned when to stand firm and when to fall back. I don't expect everyone to understand my position but i know when and when not to take position. i will not give up on the African American Community i really appreciate our diversity!!

The Women Uniting The African American Community

The exploration that I’m sharing via digital media documentation is an exploration into the raped and currently self destructive mode of thrown away people. Lost because we do not know who we are thanks to a society stuck in a childish state of mind: “conformity aka I think I’m better than you so you have to do what I do or say to be accepted”. The claws of this barbaric way of thinking has weaved into many of the ways of the United States of America. Which brings me to wonder what is barbaric way of thinking? Is the thinker or the doer barbaric? What have we become?

There is a desire to come together and become a caring community of African Americans. I received an email from Umoja Magazine stating their goal is to unite us. There was an article on Queen Mother Falaka Fattah founder of The House of Umoja being recognized for her work.  Do you know who Queen Mother Falaka Fattah is? She is one of the bravest Philadelphians that I know about. Queen Mother Fattah took a stand and organized Philadelphia communities to end gang violence. They celebrated 40 years of the Imani pledge to put down the guns and live a better way than gang life.

While attending “Breaking The Silence A Philadelphia Town Hall on Girls and Women of color and their allies” co-hosted by Girls Justice League, we took an oath of duty. Seems some of us took that oath a bit prematurely, like babies sticking our hands into a box of chocolate? Do we know Who’s in the fights? What are we looking to win? How do we develop a healthy inclusive mentality that says all is welcomed and not be uncomfortable with those who are different? If belief is some of our realities how do we Stop imposing beliefs on others?  How do we define support? 

Sharing our stories is a start!!

Dr. Kimberle Crenshaw founder of the African American Policy Forum and professor of law at UCLA and Columbia Universities, is doing the research on the state of women of color in the United States of America and brings the academia voice into our fight. 

The African American Policy Forum is a powerful resource aiding in the creation of a society that allows women and those identifying as women to be who we were born to be and not societies norms. Dr. Crenshaw work helps eliminate the curtains of lies we live behind, by bringing voice to the ignored and brutal conversations behind the icebergs of being a woman of color in the United States of America. Reality is we live in a society based on policy; we the people have the power to influence policies governing our lives.

Empress Chi founder of "The Million Woman March" was at the "Breaking The Silence" town hall informing us of "The National Campaign for the Elimination of Violence and Abuse of Women and Girls of African Descent". 

I support Empress Chi because she is important to the African American culture.  Particularly the history of African Americans in Philadelphia, and advocates so that we know our history. I’m looking forward to the 2016 Million Woman March and the international movement to end violence against women of African descent.  It is our duty to fight, win, support each other.

These three women are a few of the no fear advocates focused on the quality of life for the African American community,  two with a focus on African American women.  All these women have different mentalities sharing the purpose to give voice to our communities and end the violence and abuse we suffer. I realize and embrace each of these women differences because we all have a role on this path of unification within the African American community. 

This blog was written December 25, 2015 for those who celebrate Christmas, I say this is one of the most deceptive days with no disrespect to your faith. How is lying to the innocent, to get them to do right, become so much of the American culture? Fairytales. Cultures. Reality

What Is Going On At The Philadelphia High School For Girls?

Preparing for "Breaking The Silence" A Philadelphia Town Hall on Girls and Women of Color, i learned more disturbing facts about my alma mater The Philadelphia High School For Girls. i say that i learned more because in November 2012 i had reached out to the school to address concerns of domestic violence i had witnessed with some of my little sisters. i was working as a tax preparer for Liberty Tax Services at the checking place located at Broad & Olney Ave. when my little sisters would come into the location and get beaten by boys hanging in the check cashing location. My little sisters would laugh as if the treatment they were going through was acceptable. i reached out to them in front of the boys and informed them all that, that behavior is considered domestic violence and should not be tolerated.

i tried to connect with the principal but she would not respond. i contacted Women Against Abuse and addressed my concerns with them. They told me that the host classes that educate girls and boys about domestic violence. i reached out to Girls High again to inform them about the domestic violence prevention classes offered at Women Against Abuse and was not received well.


December 12, 2015 i learned that my sister was expelled from the Philadelphia High School For Girls because of her sexuality. I have not loaded the video of her speaking out at "Breaking The Silence" as of yet. Please check this blog or my youtube in about a week to view her speaking out against this abuse. She should sue the school for the abuse and stress they have caused her.

Hiding from the truth seems to be the way at GHS. If you are not aiming for the bougie black status then you are not welcomed by some of the black women who graduated from GHS. i remember the bougies when i attended and how they would talk about me because they didn't understand me nor tried to get to know me.

We can do better than what is currently going on at girls' high. It is our duty to do better!!

This is another sister of mine, earlier this year speaking about what she went through at GHS. Will post more video soon!!

Thanks Attorney General Kathleen Kane for Being A No Fear Advocate Pulling The Curtains on Porn Gate

 

Those disconnect curtains are coming down, exposing the silent aka peaceful rape taking place in the United States of America. Thanks to no fear advocate Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, who went up against the powers that be by exposing Porn Gate. Porn Gate exposed emails of elected officials containing racism along with derogatory treatment women working for the old boys society, have to go trough just to maintain their life styles. These women were sexually exploited and the derogatory talk of secret circles.

The Pennsylvania justice system is publicly in chaos. Our Attorney General Kathleen Kane vowed to end the corruption in the justice and political systems of Pennsylvania. I voted for her because I would also like to see an end to all the corruption polluting our legal system. The impact of this clean up is huge.  I use social media and reached out to national media programs to help spread the word about porn gate. With hope that we as a society can end derogatory treatments for all, change attitudes towards women and femmes along with support our most vulnerable members of society worldwide.

 Unfortunately our AG has gotten her hands a bit dirty by leaking information to the press and then lying under oath about the leak. She also dismissed a corruption case that my friend no fear advocate, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams bought against corrupt Pennsylvania Legislatures. Seth fought that dismissal and won, the state legislators were removed from office. The third ugly twist in the Pennsylvania corruption clean up is that Fina is a prosecutor who sent horrible emails demonstrating the unspoken abuse of power towards his female counterparts and now works for Seth.

The entire state justice system is under investigation in Pennsylvania. I hope this means an end to back door deals and leads to a fair justice system in Pennsylvania. To take down the trolls of deeply rooted corruption comes at a price. A toll truly exhibiting the  disconnect within our society.